Method of producing an ornamental surface upon leather.



H. E. ENSLIN. METHOD OF PRODUCING AN ORNAMENTAL SURFACE UPON LEATHER.APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 3, 1913.

1, 1 1 5,1 82. Patented Oct. 27, 1914.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT E. ENSLIN, F MALDEN. MASSACHUSETTS. ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOEMACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON. NEW JERSEY. A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

METHOD OF PRODUCING AN ORNAMIENTAL SURFACE UPON LEATHER.

To H ll 1mm it only concern lie it known that l. lltzanea'r IQ. ExsLIN.a citizen of the I'nited States. residing at illalden. in the countyof,.\liddlesex and State of l\lassachusetts. have invented certainImprovements in Methods of Producing an ()rinimental Surface ITponLeather. of which the following description. in connection with theaccompanying drawings. is

a specification. like reference characters on the drawings indicatinglike parts in the several ligures.

This invention relates to the ornamentation of the surface of leather.the purpose being to enhance its value. as for example by producing froman inexpensive leather imitations of the more expensive varieties.lleretofore such ornamentation has been produced by methods such asembossing. which require both expensive apparatus and a good grade ofleather to be carried out successfully.

Ordinarily leather which is used for ornamental purposes comprises aflesh side and a grain side. the grain side being the display side; andiii order to promote clearness the method of the present invention willbe described in connection with these two sides. the flesh and thegrain. I have found that by shrinking the. flesh side of a piece ofleather without shrinking the grain side. or by shrinking the flesh sidemore than the grain side. a product can be obtained of eonsiderable lessarea than the original piece which is smooth on the flesh side but iswrinkled or puckered on the grain side. and that this wrinkling 01'puckering of the grain side can be so produced as to present theappearance of expensive leathers.

It is desirable that the shrinking be confined as nearly as possible tothe Ilesh side and that it be produced uniformly so that in the finishedpiece of leather said flesh side will be smooth and have approximatelythe same appearance that it had before being shrunk. the wrinkling orpuckering being confined to the grain side. In carrying out the method.the piece of leather should be held taut during the shrinking operationso that the natural tendency of leather to curl when a selected spot isshrunk will be resisted. and I have found that if the leather is so heldit will pass through the shrinking operation referred to above withouthaving Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 3, 19 3.

Patented Oct. 27, 191 4. Serial No. 787,943.

imparted to it any considerable curling or warping. the finished productbeing substantially as flat as the original except, of course, for thewrinkling of the grain side. These and other features of the inventionwill be described in connection with an illustrative apparatus wherebyan exemplary method may be carried out and will be pointed out in theappended claims.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing: Figures 1 and 2show,respectively, the grain and the flesh side of a iecc of leatherbefore having been treate in accordance with the method of theinvention; Fig. 3 shows an apparatus by which the method may be carriedout; Figs. 4 and 5 show. respectively, the grain and the flesh side ofthe same piece of leather shown in Figs. 1 and :2 after said piece hasbeen treated in accordance with the method of the invention.

In the illustrative apparatus two uprights 1 a re. fastened to a base 3which may be the top of a bench. Ilpon these uprights is supported anexpansible frame comprising four rods 5, 7, 9 and 11. said frame beingheld in place by weights in a manner presently to be described. The skinor similar piece of leather 13 is fastened to these rods in any suitablemanner which will permit the leather to shrink along the directions inwhich the rods extend, as for example by pins 15. Two studs 17, carriedby the up rights 1, serve to support the upper rod 5, two weights 19being attached by cords or wires 21 to the lower rod 9 in order to exerta tension on the leather in a vertical direction. Tension in ahorizontal direction is produced by weights 23, 25, 27 and 29 attachedto cords or wires which run over pulleys 31 carried by the uprights 1,said cords being attached to the upright rods 11 and T in the mannershown. .It will thus be clear that the piece of leather is yieldinglyheld so as to permit it to shrink but is maintained taut at all times.

The shrinking may be accomplished in any suitable manner, and in theillustrative apparatus a blast lamp 33 of the ordinary type is made useof. The operator seizes the blast lamp and causes the tip of the flameto travel over the flesh side of the leather. He may use the. to and fromovement indicated by the arrows, or any -other movement which he findsdesirable.

Care should be taken, however, not to allow the flame to remain for anyappreciable length of time in one spot since, aside from the danger ofspoiling the leather by burning it which is obviously liable to occur,if the heat is allowed to strike through into the grain side, said sidewill be shrunk equally with the flesh side and the finished product willbe smooth on both sides and have the same appearance as the originalexcept as to size. Consequently the heat should be applied onlymomentarily to the surface of the leather and then immediatelywithdrawn, a result which may be accomplished by moving the flame acrossthe surface of the leather so as to make the application of the heatprogressive. The blast lamp illustrated is typical of anything whichwill give oif an intense heat since it is desirable, when-the shrinkingis accomplished by heat, that an intense heat be available so that itsapplication may be made to cause the flesh side to shrink instantlybefore the heat has penetrated the grain sideto any considerable extent.

In the illustrative apparatus the weights have been shown as all of thesame size and the movement of the flame as a to and fro movement; butthe sizes of the weights and the direction of movement of the flame may,of course, be varied to vary the pattern of the wrinkles which areproduced on the grain side.

In Fig. 4 is shown the grain side of a. piece of leather which has eentreated on the apparatus shown in Fig. 3; and it will be noted that theshrinkage has taken place approximatetliy equally in all directions. Byusing a di erent set of weights, however, for example by usin heavyweights in place of the weights 19, t e wrinkles can be made to take theform of ridges extending approximately parallel to one another, and byusing other combinations and manipulating the flame in a suitable mannera great variety of patterns may be produced. The shrinkage which resultsfrom carrying out the method ordinarily amounts to from 16% to 25% ofthe extent of the original piece, as is indicated by the relative sizeof the piece of leather in Figs.- 1 and 2 compared with that of the samepiece in Figs. 4 and 5.

It should be particular-lg noted that the appearance of t e flesh si eremains practically unchanged. With firm,'heavy, close fibered leatherthis is most nearly true; with soft, light, loose fibered leather theflesh side after treatment may show 'to some extent the reverse of thepattern which has been imparted to the grain side. In any event,however, the effect has been produced by shrinking the flesh side morethan the grain side so that the grain side is wrinkled because of thecontraction of the flesh side.

It will be understood that the apparatus shown has been chosen forillustrative purposes only and that the terms flesh side and grain sidehave been used rather than the terms one side and other side or treatedside and display side merely to promote brevity and clearness sinceeither side of the leather, as desired, may be subjected to shrinkage.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new anddesire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. The method ofproducing an ornamental surface upon leather which comprises shrinkingthe flesh side of the leather more than the grain side and therebycausing the grain side to become wrinkled.

2. The method of producing an ornamental surface upon leather whichcomprises shrinking the entire flesh side of a piece of leather withoutcorrespondingly shrinking the grain side whereby the area of the fleshside isdecreased and the grain side is wrinkled by the shrinking of theflesh side.

3. The method of producing an ornamental surface upon leather whichcomprises contracting the flesh side of a piece of leather throughoutits entire extent and thereby wrinkling the grain side.

4. The method of producing an ornamental surface upon leather whichcomprises puckering the grain side of a piece of leather whilemaintaining the flesh side smooth.

5. The method of producing an ornamental surface upon leather whichcomprises holding a piece of leather yieldingly so as to permit it toshrink, and then shrinking the flesh side more than the grain sidewhereby the flesh side remains smooth and the grain side is wrinkled.

6. The method of producing an ornamental surface upon leather whichcomprises holding a piece of leather yieldingly so as to permit it toshrink and then applying heat to the flesh side suflicient to shrinksaid flesh side more than the ain side.

7. The method of pro ucing an ornamental surface upon leather whichcomprises holding a piece of leather yieldingly so as to permit it toshrink and then app ying intense heat progressively to the flesh sidesufficient to shrink said flesh side to a given extent but insufiicientto shrink the grain side to an equal extent.

8. The method of producing an ornamental surface upon leather whichcomprises holding a piece of leather taut, exposing the flesh side to asource of heat and then immediately withdrawing said source before theheat penetrates the grain side, whereby the flesh side is shrunkuniformly and the grain side is wrinkled.

9. The method of producing an ornamental surface upon leather whichcomprises shrinking one side of the leather more than the other andthereby causing said other side to become wrinkled.

10. The method of producing an ornamental surface upon leather whichcomprises holding a piece of leather yieldingly so as to permit it toshrink and then treating one side so as to shrink it more than the otherand thereby causing an ornamental pattern of wrinkles to appear on saidother s1de.

11. The method of producing an ornamental surface upon leather whlchcomprises holding a piece of leather taut and treating one side so as toshrink it whereb the treated side remains smooth and the isplay side isimparted an ornamental pattern in raised 15 HERBERT E. ENSLIN.

\Vitnesses:

FRED W. GUIIJORD, HERBERT W1 KENWAY.

to permit it to shrink and then treating one side so as to shrink 1tmore than the other and thereby causing an ornamental patternof wrinklesto appear on said other side.

Correct Letters Patent No., 1,1 15,182.

, 11. The method of producing anornamental surface upon leather whichcomprises holding a piece of leather taut and treating of the case inthe Patent Ofiiee.

Ion in [SEAL] one side so as to shrink it whereby the treated sideremains smooth and the display side is imparted an ornamental pattern inraised 15 figures.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HERBERT E. ENSLIN.

Witnesses:

FRED W. GUILoRn, HERBERT W; KENWAY.

.It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,115 182, grantedOctober 27 1914:,up0i1 the application of Herbert E. Enslin, of Malden,Massachusetts, for an improvement in Methods of Producing an OrnamentalSurface upon Leather, an error appears in the printed specificationrequiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 1.4, after the word andinsert the word to; and that the said Letters Patent should be read withthis correction therein that the same may conform to the record Signedand sealed this 19th day of January, A. D., 1915.

R. F. WHITEHEAD,

Acting Uommz'samer of Patents.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,115,182, grantedOctober 27, 1914, upon the application of Herbert E. llnslin, of Malden,Massachusetts, for an improvement in Methods of Producing an OrnamentalSurface upon Leather, an error appears in the printed specificationrequiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 14, after the word andinsert the word to, and that the said Letters Patent should be read withthis correction therein that the same may conform to the record of thecase in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 19th day of January, A. D., 1915.

[SEALJ R. F. WHITEHEAD,

Acting Commisswner of Patents.

